Rufus Ralph Hughes II

Rufus Ralph Hughes II of Little Rock, Ark. passed away on June 12, 2017. He was born in Oxford, Miss. on April 29, 1937 to David Green Hughes and Ruth Rhodes Hughes. Along with his brother, James Rhodes Hughes, Rufus lived in Oxford as a neighbor of William Faulkner, who regaled the neighborhood children with ghost stories on Halloween. The family later moved to Parkin, Ark. where Rufus grew up on a farm. Rufus and his brother attended the Sewanee Military Academy in Tennessee. Rufus then moved to Atlanta, Ga., in 1956 to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture and spent the majority of his career as a professor. While in Atlanta, Rufus raised two boys with his first wife Nancy Caroline Askew. In retirement, Rufus moved to Little Rock, Ark. with his wife, Carol Marotti Hughes who pre-deceased him in 2015. He is survived by his children, David and Rosalie Hughes, Jonathan and Jeanne Hughes, Scott and Tonya Marotti, Jane Marotti, and seven loving grandchildren. Rufus began teaching at Georgia Tech School of Architecture in 1966 and retired as Assistant Dean in 1993. As a teacher, Rufus found passion in teaching design studio courses and was a design critic for undergraduate and graduate programs in the college. Rufus taught abroad as a design critic at the Ecole des Beaux Arts (1978 and 1981) and Ecole d'Architecture (1988 and 1989) in Paris, France. Professional travel also took him to Russia, Uzbekistan, and Eurasian Georgia. Rufus was inducted into the American Institute of Architects College of Fellows in 1992. Beyond his dedication to teaching, Rufus and his colleague, Dale Durfee, designed homes and professional buildings throughout the southeastern U.S. Noteworthy projects include Hewlett Packard corporate headquarters, the Catholic Center at Georgia Tech, and the McKenzie residence. Together, Rufus and Dale received numerous awards at the national and state levels and their work was featured widely in publications. Rufus loved fly fishing, golf, coin collecting, and grilling steaks. He favoured single-malt scotch, master-level sudoku, and humbling crossword puzzles. Rufus was sage to his students, family, and friends, and had a special gift for imparting his vast knowledge through comfortable conversation. A common piece of wisdom Rufus frequently imparted was to "always follow your heart, but don't forget your head." A celebration of Rufus' life will be held on Friday, June 16 at Saint Michael's Episcopal Church, located at 12415 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, Ark. 72223. There will be a visitation from 10 to 10:45 a.m. prior to the funeral service at 11 a.m. A graveside ceremony will be held at 3:30 p.m. at Crittenden Memorial Park Cemetery, 2206 Highway 64 West, Marion, Ark. 72364. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to St. Jude Children's Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, Tenn. 38105-1905, Hospice Home Care, 2200 S. Bowman Road, Little Rock, Ark. 72211, or The Heifer Foundation, 1 World Avenue, Little Rock, Ark. 72203. Online guestbook: www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/chenal.